


See you on the other side, Wise Girl

by Faeriepool



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, HoO doesn't happen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-07
Updated: 2015-12-07
Packaged: 2018-05-05 13:25:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5376887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faeriepool/pseuds/Faeriepool
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if history repeated itself. Must it always end for them with a knife? But what if this time he's the one who takes the blade?</p>
            </blockquote>





	See you on the other side, Wise Girl

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing, please don't kill me.

“Just my luck”, Percy thought as he dodged another clawed swipe, “I can’t get even one day off.” 

It was Percy’s eighteenth birthday and he had been spending it with Annabeth at Camp Half-Blood. They were having a picnic in the ripe strawberry fields when they noticed a commotion near the crest of Half-Blood Hill. 

A lone demigod was running up the hill, using a splintered oak branch to shield himself from the dozen or so of Dracanae that were chasing him. Seeing that they boy was being overwhelmed, the pair ran to help him, hence Percy’s current position. He could see Annabeth a few feet away, shielding the newbie with her body as she took on three Dracanae at once with ease. Dispatching the last of those near him, Percy looked over again to see that Annabeth had finished the last of the monsters near her and was shaking gold monster dust out of her long golden curls. As Percy walked over, she turned to face the new boy and helped him up, dusting him off as she did so. Looking at him, Percy did a double take. The boy could have been his clone, if about five years younger. Annabeth must have noticed it too, as she was so distracted, she didn’t notice that a snake woman who had escaped the slaughter sneaking up on her. Seeing Annabeth’s would be killer, Percy broke into a run, but he was too far away for his blade to make a difference. Making a split second decision, Percy dropped Riptide and threw himself between his girlfriend and the Dracanae’s sword, which was, ironically, aimed at the small of Annabeth’s back, Percy’s only mortal spot before his stay at Camp Jupiter. 

Seeing the horrified look on the new kid’s face and hearing the commotion from the assembling crowd of demigods that had been attracted by the fight, Annabeth turned around, just in time to see Percy fall as he took the sword for her. Before she could process what happened, the new kid, Theseus, had grabbed her knife and beheaded the Dracanae. With a strangled cry, Annabeth collapsed to the ground, indifferent to the monster dust now covering her, and cradled Percy’s head gently in the lap of her torn jeans. Apollo campers rushed forward to help the pair, but after five minutes of flurried activity around Percy’s midsection Will Solace looked up at Annabeth and slowly shook his head as he and his siblings backed away quietly, eyes downcast. Annabeth looked back down at Percy and started. He was gasping for breath and clutching at his stomach wound, but he still managed to smile for her.

“Why so glum, Wise Girl?” he asked with a pained smile as her tears rained down on his face, “You took a knife for me, I took one for you. Now we’re even.” 

“NO!” she wailed, “It’s not supposed to end this way, you promised me forever, you promised!”

“You know I never break a promise Wise Girl, but I think I’m going to have to take a rain check on that one.” He replied with a quiet laugh that quickly turned into a hacking cough, as he struggled for air.

With an air of solemnity, Clarisse broke away from the assemblage of stony-faced demigods to hand Percy Riptide from where he dropped it, before she quickly walked back into her boyfriend’s arms, silent tears pouring down her normally stoic face. Annabeth tried to smile for Percy as she went to place his sword on his chest like the heroes of old, but he shook his head at her. Putting his hand over hers on Riptides hilt, he looked up at her, the amount of love shining through the pain in his sparkling sea green eyes stunning her. 

“Annabeth,” he rasped, sliding his blood caked fingers through hers, “thank you. You made this basket case New Yorker feel more special and alive than he probably deserved and I wish I had more time to show you just how important you are to me. I love you Wise Girl.”

Looking away from her face for the first time since he took the knife, Percy shifted slightly to look at the demigod they’d saved; his mini-me. He had been standing, stunned, behind the pair since Percy had been stabbed. Seeing the small, green trident pendant around his neck, Percy gave him a small smile before lifting Riptide with a shaking hand and handing it to the boy.

“Riptide has always responded best to the Sons of the Sea,” he rasped with a weak smile as the boy grasped the studded leather hilt tightly and raised the celestial bronze sword high, “use it well, little brother.” 

Theseus’ eyes widened in realisation as he gave Percy a tight smile and began to turn away, but in one last burst of strength, Percy grabbed his wrist.

“Just promise me one thing…” Percy gasped, “Just one last thing…keep her safe for me…keep my Wise Girl safe.”

Theseus nodded tearfully. “I will…brother.” he said as Percy let go of his wrist and let his hand drop down to Annabeth’s face, cupping her cheek one last time as she leaned into his hand.

“See you on the other side Wise Girl.” He whispered as his strength failed him and his hand fell.

Annabeth was shocked back into reality with the lack of contact, having been rendered mute as her brain tried to process the fact that she was really losing him; Percy was not getting back up from this one.

“No! No, you can’t leave me! We can fix this. We always do. Don’t you dare leave me alone Seaweed Brain!”

“There’s my Wise Girl,” he chuckled softly, flicking a finger at her as the lights started to dim in his eyes, orbs once roiling seas of green now glazed and dull, “always trying to fix everything. Don’t worry darling, this isn’t goodbye. I will be waiting for you, as long as it takes. Remember, I did promise you forever.” 

With one last cocky grin at his friends and pseudo family, Percy’s body went still and his unforgettable green eyes closed for the last time. An invisible Hermes quietly led his wistfully smiling soul off to Hades: Chiron’s proclamation of the death of the Son of Poseidon and the claiming of the next Sea Prince ringing in his ears. 

Decades passed and yet Percy held true to his promise. Olympus’ greatest Hero waited many years in Elysium before he was joined by his better half, but he didn’t mind. After all, he had promised her forever, and Percy Jackson never broke a promise.


End file.
